Days passed. I, the great Three-Dog, bow wow wow, received word that there were strange light flashes in the sky. Green rays traveled short distances in the heavens. That people were seeing some fancy light show. It went on for half an hour until boom! Something in the cosmos exploded. Whatever it was, it caused a great light to appear in the sky, almost like the flash of an atomic bomb. It filled every inch of the sky with light, and for the first time in in centuries, the people of Washington D.C. had seen stars. Well, the one we'd all see is the Sun, of course, but we all saw stars of different colors and sizes. We saw what looked like a cloud that was far far away. A red cloud that wasn't anywhere near us but seemed so close.
The Capital Wasteland had viewed the great mysteries and the great beauty of space. Mankind had visited space before, you know, but that was one place that man never was able to fully… touch. Its magnificence still pure and just, the way it was before, now and how it will be in the far future. My, my. The explosion was like a light bulb at night. It showed me, the Brotherhood soldiers outside my radio building, and the entire wasteland that beauty was always in front of us. We just have to look closely. And that, my friends, is what made that day so special to me.
Nevertheless, I didn't say I was going to talk about me nor about the beauty of the cosmic space. We're here to listen about what happened to Max LeBay on that weird abduction. Shortly after that explosion, people talked about seeing some giant comet heading towards the Earth. I didn't feel any second apocalypse but that's when Max came back. What we all saw was a battle between alien motherships! I know, crazy, right? Well that's exactly what happened. What we saw fly towards Earth was the enemy ship meeting the Earth real closely. And Max LeBay, somehow came back to us all.
He made back and forth trips between Megaton and some secret place that even today, remains a closely guarded secret. Nonetheless, he brought home a plethora of weapons, strange food, medicine, armor and his iconic katana. Yes, kiddos, that is how the Lone Wanderer as you all know him today got his revered blade.
When he came back home to Megaton, the first thing Max did was sleep. He slept for a couple hours, woke up, and went back. He made round trips several times until he was done. I don't know where he went nor for what reason, all I know is that Max had something planned for whatever he was bringing home.
After his great delivery, he stayed in his Megaton house for two days. No one saw him leave for two days. Then, on the third day, like the Christ he revered, he "resurrected" from his home. He walked out in some strange grayish armor. It was skintight with a mask that had an orange visor. Don't ask me as if I know, but imagine what it must have felt in between his legs! Ouch! Anyways, he had that armor on. He was also seen having some strange rifle on his back. It wasn't his hunting rifle, because remember, it shattered and stabbed itself into his back when he hit the ground from the tower.
No, this was some strange rifle and it had the sort of guard that he slips his hand in, pulls it down, pushes the lever back up back up and shoots, then repeats. If I had some history book that told me what that gun was, I'd tell you automatically. All I know of that gun is that it was used in a war. A war in which America the great fought over freedom of us black slave folk.
If any of you ever make it into the D.C. ruins, pay homage to old Lincoln at his memorial. You know, the statue has its head back on. Ol' Maxy fixed that for some runaway slaves as a sort of icon and haven to them. However, that is a story for another time. Besides the rifle, his katana was also on his back, it's sheath slightly above the old rifle for easy reach and convenience. So after Max came out of his own little Hobbit hole, the girl he saved some time before, Lucy West, came up to him.
"Hey, Max," she said. "How are you?"
"Oh, hi Lucy. I don't remember giving my name to you." He felt a bit uncomfortable.
"You may not know it but some people talk about you as if you were a God after you disarmed the bomb. Others say you're a hero for rescuing me and killing Burke. Others said you were dead after you didn't show for a bit. And after you returned, some said you went out West," she replied. "So getting your name was an easy feat. Plus, you're on a first name basis with the Sheriff," she joked and laughed at her remark.
Max smiled at her attempt to break some ice. "Well, I have to be off Lucy. I'm looking for someone important and dear to me. I need to find him."
She looked down but then looked at him, "Do you mind if you walk me to my home? My real home out in Arefu… I'm homesick and the wastes are very dangerous these days."
Max rubbed the back of his neck. "Damn… how far is it?"
"Maybe a couple hours walk, if we head out now," she replied. "Slightly North-East."
Max scratched his head in thought and looked at the ground, then at the sky, then at Lucy, and said," Fine. We head out now before we lose the light."
Lucy made a small scream of delight and hugged Max. Soon, they were on the road headed for the settlement of Arefu.
The trip seemed peaceful and tranquil. Nothing but the wind howled, and nothing but the sand swam across the air. Max remembered the first time battling the great flying sands, and so was glad he had the matching mask of the armor he was wearing. Lucy's protection was a head scarf with some biker goggles she had hanging around her neck. If he had goggles when he left, Max though, he wouldn't have run into that ant.
Lucy was able to see nothing through Max's visor, and felt like the person guiding her through the wastes was Death himself. Death was her silent companion, leading her to a silent area where she would die and no one would know. For all she knew, Max only saved her for some sinister plan he had for the future. Maybe he didn't come from some Vault but was a raider in disguise and she was being lead to a rape followed by brutal death!
Well, at least until they started talking.
"Hey Max," Lucy called, "how come you didn't come out into town for a couple days? I heard you were back but that you weren't coming out."
"I was reading. Got to get my education, you know," he joked.
"Reading? You have books? I haven't seen many pre-war books. Just the occasional Grognak, and the rare Jerky Vendor stories."
"Well, it's like those kinds. It's an old manual given to Chinese soldiers on how to be stealthier. I found a whole box of the manuals with this suit. The manuals taught me how to put this on properly, how to use it and it gave me good advice on how not to be detected. They also taught me how to properly use a katana, even though the katana are Japanese, not Chinese," He grabbed the handle of his blade, identifying it as such.
"Oh," she muttered.
"I mean, in the Vault, I was pretty sneaky. The fun part of my job was being sneaky." He laughed, "Hell, I'd sneak out every night and no one would be the wiser."
"Where would you sneak off to?" she asked.
"Well, I'd sneak out and go sleep at my girlfriend's-"he stopped short, realizing he let out the knowledge of Amata.
"Ooh," she cooed. "Lover boy, Maxy, eh?" She gave a gentle nudge of her elbow and Max gave an awkward smile.
"Oh, God," he muttered. "Yes, in the Vault I had a girlfriend. Her name was Amata, daughter to a tyrant and a murderer and a... a fucking lunatic!"
"Seems like you two aren't close," she replied. "It's normal, though. The dad is supposed to be protective of her daughter. My dad was super-"she was cut off.
"He beat his own daughter, he fetched his henchmen after me, he ordered the death of my friend, and he ordered the death of me, Lucy! A fucking tyrant!"
Lucy suddenly fell silent. She didn't want to say another word, until she heard the sobs Max gave behind his visor.
"Hey, hey, hey!" She stopped him in his march. "Is the man who saved my life going to cry over the past? They're in there and you're out here," she said, motioning to the wasteland surrounding them.
"I want to be with her, Lucy. I would give anything for her."
"Well, for now then, you'll have to settle for me. I'm not a daughter to a crazy, murdering tyrant who beats his kids. No, quite the opposite. My dad loves me and would most likely love you too. I mean, he usually loves all my friends as long as they don't try to rob or pillage us" She smiled a small, warm smile.
Max gave a small snicker. "Dork."
"Come on, it's on that bridge right there."
Max looked ahead and sure enough; there were houses on a bridge poking out of the horizon. They kept their walk to the bridge, which was actually half of a highway, and stopped at the foot of the road leading up to it. On the side, where the ascent began, was a ram-shackle house with an animal pen for Brahmin. Yet, the Brahmin in the pen were dead, flies and maggots feasting on their corpses as the hot sun hardened the animals' skin, and gave them all a putrid odor.
"Oh my god," she exclaimed. "What happened here?" She covered her nose and ran up the highway screaming, "Evan! Mr. King! Evan!" Max ran shortly behind her.
As the houses became distinguishable, an explosion knocked Lucy back, but Max caught her before she hit the floor. An elderly man wearing a cap and a jacket reminiscent of those worn by scavengers came out from behind a chunk of rebar and ran up to the duo.
"Whoa! I'm sorry, Lucy! I nearly blew you up thinking you were The Family!" The old man help pick Lucy off of Max's arm.
Lucy gently shook her head. "It's alright, Evan but who are 'The Family?' Also, have you seen mom and dad? Ian?"
"Your Mom, Dad, and Ian are home last I checked but recently, Lu, these people named the Family have been pestering us! They killed our Brahmin and we're all scared. Can you check on the town for me while I keep the area fortified? Just knock on the doors because I had everyone lock them."
Max and Lucy knocked on doors of the town of Arefu. Lucy reunited with old friends while Max met new ones, not ones he thought he would keep, though. Finally, Lucy stared at the house at the end of the highway, the house where her family lived.
Lucy knocked on the door three times. "Mom? Dad," she called. No answer. She called and knocked again but simply no answer was given.
"Give me a minute," Max said, as he knelt down in front of the door and started to pick the lock. Soon enough, the door was unlocked and the horrible smell of death filled their nostrils and burned their hair. Lucy looked inside in horror as two bodies, a male, and a female, laid on the bed. The female had her legs dangling off the side of the bed while the male was against a wall facing the dead woman.
"Mom! Dad!" Lucy ran inside and knelt before the fallen parents. She burst into tears at the sight the bite marks on their necks.
Max sat next to her and held her in his arms. "There, there," he whispered. "I'll find who did this. I'll make them pay dearly."
Lucy looked up and then surveyed the room. "Ian?" Lucy's brother wasn't anywhere in town, and she wept harder into Max's shoulder.
Max examined the bodies of Lucy's parents. Human bite marks on the necks. Stains on the fabrics reminiscent of a rail yard. No great loss of blood. The father was soaked in urine. The mother was defiled, her waist bare and legs parted. A terrible scene.
"Lucy, are there any train yards nearby?"
Lucy gave a small thought. "There's the Meresti Train Yard. Why?"
Max LeBay didn't say anything as he left the house of the deceased parents of Lucy West. He informed Evan King of the Wests' fates, where he was going and told him to take care of Lucy while he's away. With that said and done, he left for Meresti Train yard.
Getting there was fairly simple. He took out his katana and sliced away a couple mole rats, the occasional Scooby and the rare radscorpion. Soon, he found himself within the tunnels of the trains. It was quiet. A bit too quiet. Signs marked where to go and he didn't really like the idea of being lead on a specific path.
He eventually found himself in a hub, of sorts. A makeshift temple with benches on the lower level and a grand podium on top. Where the podium is, was a man with a duster looking down at him.
The man spoke. "Who is it that comes to the sanctuary of The Family?"
"I've come in search of Ian West. I've also come to put a stop to the attacks on Arefu."
"Ah, Ian. Our newest protégé. Attacks on Arefu, you say?" The man rubbed his chin a bit, as if he had a beard on his hairless jaw.
"Yes," Max said. "The attack on the parents of Ian. They're dead because of you people and you left their daughter an orphan without even a brother. I demand for him back!"
The man laughed. "Did you know it was Ian who did that? We didn't think he would do it but he had the hunger for human flesh within him! He was a famished boy. Yet, urinating on his father and raping his mother? That was too far. He crossed the line with that. We told him to have at least some respect for the dead, too."
Max's eyes widened. "He did it? He killed his family? Where is he!"
"He's in a meditation room where he is to reflect on his actions and control the urge to feed. He mustn't be disturbed by anyone. Much less a squabble from the wastes."
"He has to come home," cried Max. "He has a sister that misses him and that cares for him."
The strange man examined Max from a top the second level. "Come forth, young one."
Cautiously, Max did so. He noticed the blade attached to the hip from the man. "Show me your blade," said the stranger.
Max unsheathed his katana from its rightful place and let the man examine it. Marvelous was all that came out from the strange man's mouth.
"Tell you what," said the man. "We fight a battle of the blades. If you win, I shall grant you safe passage through to Ian, but if I win, I get to have the sword off your dead body."
Max was at first hesitant. He was very fond of the blade, but cared more for Lucy's happiness.
Max looked down. "So it's to the death, then…Deal."
"Excellent," he said. The man unsheathed his sword and gave a small, deep menacing laugh. The man assumed a fighting pose, as Max did the same. 'Let's see if those manuals helped at all,' Max thought. The both formed fighting stances, at least twenty paces from each other, and soon, all the people in the station circled around their leader and their visitor. The two stared at one another for quite a while as silence fell upon the station. They soon charged at each other, and swung their swords at one another. The crowd jumped as the two blades met in a fury of sparks.
Good? Bad? Bad grammar? xD Well, sorry for bringing it up late but for some reason, the site wouldn't let me log in. I hope you all enjoyed this little chapter and stay tuned for more!
